Architecture optimized for application data sharing within a mobile communications device

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure discloses a scheme for sharing data among multiple applications within a mobile communications device. The scheme involves performing a remote database inquiry with respect to a remote database accessible via a wireless packet data service network, wherein the remote database inquiry is performed as part of a first application available on the mobile communications device. The information resulting from the remote database inquiry is then stored in a local common database object that is accessible to a second application available on the mobile communications device.

FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

The present patent disclosure generally relates to wireless data servicenetworks. More particularly, and not by way of any limitation, thepresent patent disclosure is directed to a scheme for maintaining andsharing data, and in particular address data, between variousapplications and components within a mobile communications devicedisposed in a wireless data service network.

BACKGROUND

Within a wireless data service network, information is shared between afixed server and at least one mobile communications device. Withincertain networks, the mobile communications device may host two or moreapplications requiring access to the same body of data, at least aportion of which is stored on the fixed server.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the embodiments of the present patentdisclosure may be had by reference to the following Detailed Descriptionwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary network environment including a wirelesspacket data service network wherein an embodiment of the present patentdisclosure may be practiced;

FIG. 2 depicts a software architectural view of a mobile communicationsdevice operable to share data between applications according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a mobile communications deviceoperable to share data among applications according to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a mobile communications systemarchitecture according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram according to a method of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 6 depicts a message flow diagram according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure relates to a mobile communications deviceincorporating a first data storage space, or database, and at least twoquerying means. At least one querying means is operable to query thefirst data storage space as to the existence of a data record matchingthe query within the first data storage space. At least one additionalquerying means is operable to query a second data storage space outsideof the mobile communications device as to the existence of a data recordmatching the query within the second data storage space if the datarecord is not found within the first data storage space. The query ofthe second data storage space is conducted over a wireless data servicenetwork. In one embodiment, the two querying means may be integratedinto a single logic structure operable in the software environment ofthe mobile communications device.

The mobile communications device incorporates a structure for copying aqueried data record from the second data storage space to the first datastorage space whenever the queried data record is located within thesecond data storage space but not located within the first data storagespace. Additionally, the mobile communications device incorporates astructure for communicating the contents of the first data storage spaceto at least two applications resident on the mobile communicationsdevice, which may include a contacts application and an emailapplication, as examples.

The wireless data service network may include a General Packet RadioService (GPRS) network, an Enhanced Data Rates for Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) Evolution (EDGE) network, a 3rd Generation(3G) network, an Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (IDEN), a CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access(TDMA) network or a combination of the above. The second set of data maybe disposed in a server operably connected to the internet. In certainembodiments, the data in the first data storage space and the seconddata storage space comprise address data. Depending on the specificapplication, the querying operations may be conducted by a portion ofthe operating system, by a separate application or by a portion of avirtual operating system operating on the mobile communications device.

The present disclosure discloses a method for sharing data amongmultiple applications within a mobile communications deviceincorporating a number of steps relating to the searching and movementof data among multiple data storage spaces. The steps of the methoddisclosed include querying a first data storage space regarding theexistence of a queried data record within the first data storage spaceand querying a second data storage space disposed outside of the mobilecommunications device through a wireless data service network wheneverthe first data storage space does not contain the queried data record.Where the queried data record is located within the second data storagespace but not located within the first data storage space, a querieddata record is copied from the second data storage space to the firstdata storage space. At least a portion of the queried data record may becommunicated to one or more applications within the mobilecommunications device via a common database.

A system and method of the present patent disclosure will now bedescribed with reference to various examples of how the embodiments canbest be made and used. Like reference numerals are used throughout thedescription and several views of the drawings to indicate like orcorresponding parts, wherein the various elements are not necessarilydrawn to scale.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, depictedtherein is an exemplary network environment 100 including a wirelesspacket data service network 112 wherein an embodiment of the presentpatent disclosure may be practiced. An enterprise network 102, which maybe a packet-switched network, can include one or more geographic sitesand be organized as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN)or metropolitan area network (MAN), et cetera, for serving a pluralityof corporate users. A number of application servers 104-1 through 104-Ndisposed as part of the enterprise network 102 are operable to provideor effectuate a host of internal and external services such as email,video mail, Internet access, corporate data access, messaging,calendaring and scheduling, information management, and the like.Accordingly, a diverse array of personal information appliances such asdesktop computers, laptop computers, palmtop computers, et cetera,although not specifically shown in FIG. 1, may be operably networked toone or more of the application servers 104-i, i=1, 2, . . . , N, withrespect to the services supported in the enterprise network 102.

Additionally, a remote services server 106 may be interfaced with theenterprise network 102 for enabling a corporate user to access oreffectuate any of the services from a remote location using a suitablemobile communications device (MCD) 116. A secure communication link withend-to-end encryption may be established that is mediated through anexternal IP network, i.e., a public packet-switched network such as theInternet 108, as well as the wireless packet data service network 112operable with MCD 116 via suitable wireless network infrastructure thatincludes a base station (BS) 114. In one embodiment, a trusted relaynetwork 110 may be disposed between the Internet 108 and theinfrastructure of wireless packet data service network 112. By way ofexample, MCD 116 may be a data-enabled handheld device capable ofreceiving and sending messages, web browsing, interfacing with corporateapplication servers, et cetera.

For purposes of the present patent disclosure, the wireless packet dataservice network 112 may be implemented in any known or heretoforeunknown mobile communications technologies and network protocols, aslong as a packet-switched data service is available therein fortransmitting packetized information. For instance, the wireless packetdata service network 112 may be comprised of a General Packet RadioService (GPRS) network that provides a packet radio access for mobiledevices using the cellular infrastructure of a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM)-based carrier network. In other implementations,the wireless packet data service network 112 may comprise an EnhancedData Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network, an Integrated DigitalEnhanced Network (IDEN), a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network,a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network or any 3rd Generation(3G) network.

FIG. 2 depicts a software architectural view of a mobile communicationsdevice operable to share address and other data according to oneembodiment. A multi-layer transport stack (TS) 206 is operable toprovide a generic data transport protocol for any type of corporatedata, including email, via a reliable, secure and seamless continuousconnection to a wireless packet data service network. As illustrated inthe embodiment of FIG. 2, an integration layer 204A is operable as aninterface between the MCD's radio layer 202 and the transport stack 206.Likewise, another integration layer 204B is provided for interfacingbetween the transport stack 206 and the user applications 207 supportedon the MCD, e.g., email 208, calendar/scheduler 210, contact management212 and browser 214. Although not specifically shown, the transportstack 206 may also be interfaced with the MCD's operating system. Inanother implementation, the transport stack 206 may be provided as partof a data communications client module operable as a host-independentvirtual machine on a mobile device.

The bottom layer (Layer 1) of the transport stack 206 is operable as aninterface to the wireless network's packet layer. Layer 1 handles basicservice coordination within the exemplary network environment 100 shownin FIG. 1. For example, when an MCD roams from one carrier network toanother, Layer 1 verifies that the packets are relayed to theappropriate wireless network and that any packets that are pending fromthe previous network are rerouted to the current network. The top layer(Layer 4) exposes various application interfaces to the servicessupported on the MCD. The remaining two layers, Layer 2 and Layer 3, areresponsible for datagram segmentation/reassembly and security,compression and routing, respectively. A remote database queryingapplication, provided as part of the software environment, is disposedin operable communication with the transport stack 206 as well as theMCD's radio layer 202. This component is represented in FIG. 2 by remoteaddress lookup module 216. As will be described below, any data obtainedvia the remote database querying application may be provided in a commondatabase 218 such that other applications may also access the data.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a mobile communications deviceoperable to share data among applications according to one embodiment.It will be recognized by those skilled in the art upon reference heretothat although an embodiment of MCD 116 may comprise an arrangementsimilar to one shown in FIG. 3, there can be a number of variations andmodifications, in hardware, software or firmware, with respect to thevarious modules depicted. Accordingly, the arrangement of FIG. 3 shouldbe taken as illustrative rather than limiting with respect to theembodiments of the present patent disclosure. A microprocessor 302providing for the overall control of an embodiment of MCD 116 isoperably coupled to a communication subsystem 304 which includes areceiver 308 and transmitter 314 as well as associated components suchas one or more local oscillator (LO) modules 310 and a processing modulesuch as a digital signal processor (DSP) 312.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the field of communications, theparticular design of the communication module 304 may be dependent uponthe communications network with which the mobile device is intended tooperate. In one embodiment, the communication module 304 is operablewith both voice and data communications. Regardless of the particulardesign, however, signals received by antenna 306 through BS 114 areprovided to receiver 308, which may perform such common receiverfunctions as signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering,channel selection, analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion, and the like.Similarly, signals to be transmitted are processed, including modulationand encoding, for example, by DSP 312, and provided to transmitter 314for digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, frequency up conversion,filtering, amplification and transmission over the air-radio interfacevia antenna 316.

Microprocessor 302 also interfaces with further device subsystems suchas auxiliary input/output (I/O) 318, serial port 320, display 322,keyboard 324, speaker 326, microphone 328, random access memory (RAM)330, a short-range communications subsystem 332, and any other devicesubsystems generally labeled as reference numeral 333. To controlaccess, a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) or Removable User IdentityModule (RUIM) interface 334 is also provided in communication with themicroprocessor 302.

In one implementation, SIM/RUIM interface 334 is operable with aSIM/RUIM card having a number of key configurations 344 and otherinformation 346 such as identification and subscriber-related data.Operating system software and transport stack software may be embodiedin a persistent storage module (i.e., non-volatile storage) such asFlash memory 335. In one implementation, Flash memory 335 may besegregated into different areas, e.g., storage area for computerprograms 336 as well as data storage regions such as device state 337,address book 339, other personal information manager (PIM) data 341, andother data storage areas generally labeled as reference numeral 343.Additionally, a database querying logic module, specifically remoteaddress lookup (RAL) module 216, is shown. Those of skill in the artwill appreciate that remote address lookup module 216 may be disposedwithin Flash memory 335 or outside of it, depending on the specificapplication. Furthermore, a common database for sharing data that isaccessible to a number of applications may be interfaced with the RALmodule 216 as well as other databases already described.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a mobile communications system 400according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. System 400includes MCD 116 operably connected to a network 402. In certainembodiments, network 402 exemplifies the entirety of the networkarchitecture represented by elements 102-114 shown in FIG. 1. Inalternate embodiments, network 402 may incorporate additional networkarchitecture, or may consist of a simpler network arrangement. Withoutrespect to the particular architecture involved, network 402 providesoperable connection to remote server 404, which operates to manage anddistribute the data stored in remote address database 406.

The content of remote address database 406 will vary by application. Incertain embodiments, remote address database 406 may act as anenterprise address book, containing all of the address information foran entire company. In other embodiments, remote address database 406 mayincorporate a public telephone directory for a geographic region.Certain embodiments may combine these sets of data with one another, orwith additional databases, as various applications may require.

As described above, MCD 116 communicates with network 402 throughtransport stack 206. Transport stack 206 facilitates incoming andoutgoing communication for a variety of functions, but is shown in FIG.4 as being operably connected only to remote address lookup module 216for clarity. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the remote addresslookup module 216 principally interacts with contacts application 212.In other embodiments, multiple applications may directly interact withremote address lookup module 216. As an example, contacts application212 and email application 208 may both interact with remote addresslookup module 216 as necessary.

Remote address lookup module 216 interacts with the MCD local commondatabase 408, which holds the local address book for MCD 216. Althoughrepresented by a single element, those of skill in the art willappreciate that MCD local common database 408 may, in a particularapplication, be composed of multiple databases without being consideredto depart from the scope of the teachings of the present disclosure. Thelocal address book may comprise a separate segment of the local commondatabase 408 in certain embodiments. In alternate embodiments, the datacomprising the local address book may be dispersed through the MCD localcommon database 408.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, other applications running under theMCD operating system 414 installed on the MCD hardware 416, includingemail application 208, share access to local common database 408, andtherefore have access to the local address book. Other applicationswhich may share access to the MCD local common database 408 arerepresented by elements 410 and 412. Applications 410 and 412 may be anyapplications making use of the data in common database 408, includingbut not limited to the data stored in the local address book.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart 500 showing the manner of operation of amobile communications device architecture according to one embodiment.Process flow begins in block 502, at which point the remote addresslookup module 216 first receives an address query from a source. Thesource may, for example, be an application running on the MCD 116, ormay be direct input from the user. In certain embodiments, the sourcemay even be an application running in an environment outside the MCD116.

Upon receipt of an address query from a source, the remote addresslookup module 216 queries the local address database within the localcommon database 408, in an attempt to find a match between the queryreceived from the source and a record in the local common database 408,as shown in block 504. If at least one potential match to the query isfound within the local common database 408 (decision block 506,) processflow proceeds to block 508 where the remote address lookup module 216presents at least one of the potential matches to the user or otherquery source for review or comparison. Generally, if more than onematching record is identified, each of the records will be presented tothe user or other query source for review until one of the matchingrecords is selected or there are no more matching records.

If at least one result obtained from the search of the local commondatabase 408 is acceptable to the query source (decision block 510), thequerying and search process is complete, and process flow returns toblock 502, wherein the remote address lookup module 216 awaitsadditional address queries. If the result obtained from the search ofthe local common database 408 is not acceptable to the query source(decision block 510), the querying and search process is not complete,and process flow continues to block 512, wherein the remote addresslookup module 216 queries at least one remote address database 406through at least one remote server 404, as described in block 512.

In certain embodiments, the remote server 404 and remote addressdatabase 406 may be an enterprise-level server and database. Inalternate embodiments, the remote server 404 and remote address database406 may comprise a publicly-accessible address directory. Remote server404 and remote address database 406 shown in FIG. 4 may, of course,merely represent a complex network incorporating a series of server anddatabase combinations. For example, the process of remote address lookupmay search a department-level address database first, followed by adivision-level address database and then a corporate-level addressdatabase if the more localized searches are unsuccessful. In the eventthat the address information is not found within any address databaseinternal to the enterprise, the remote address lookup could incorporatea search of a publicly available database as a last resort. Any and allof these arrangements are within the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure.

If the query of the remote address database 406 is unsuccessful infinding a match to the query (decision block 514), process flow returnsto bubble 502, wherein the remote address lookup module 216 awaitsadditional address queries. If the query of the remote address database406 is successful in finding a match to the query (decision block 514),process flow continues to block 516, wherein the remote address lookupmodule 216 updates the local address database operably interfaced withthe local common database 408 to incorporate the newly-acquired addressdata found in the remote address database 406. In certain embodiments,storage of the remote address data within the local common database 408may be automatic. In other embodiments, the address data acquired fromthe remote address lookup may only be stored in the local addressdatabase under the direction of, or with the assent of, the user orother query source.

As described above, data stored in the common database 408 is availablenot only to contacts application 212 and email application 208, butother applications as well. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4,applications 410 and 412 have access to common database 408, which mayincorporate the local address database in one implementation. The effectof this particular architecture is that the local address database canbe shared by the applications resident on MCD 116, and the benefit of anupdate to the content of the local address database made by, forexample, remote address lookup module 216 are available to each of theseapplications. In certain embodiments, applications 410 and 412 may havethe capability to make changes to the local address database withinlocal common database 408. In other embodiments, changes to the localaddress database may be the shared province of the contacts application212 and the remote address lookup module 216, and the access granted toother applications may be exclusively read-only. In other words, thevarious applications on the mobile communications device may be givendifferent access/update privileges with respect to the local commondatabase 408. Any of these arrangements is within the scope of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 depicts a message flow diagram 600 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. It will be apparent to one of skill in the artthat the process depicted in message flow diagram 600 is the processdepicted in FIG. 5 as viewed from a different perspective. Message flowdiagram 600 depicts the flow of information between a local application410, remote address lookup module 216 and remote address database 406,as effectuated via a plurality of messages therebetween.

Upon receipt of a local query 602, remote address lookup module 216performs a local search 604 of the common database 408. In the eventthat remote address lookup module 216 identifies at least one resultmatching local query 602 within the common database 408 and at least onematching result is acceptable to the local application 410, the remoteaddress lookup module 216 communicates the results of the local search604 to the local application 410, and the process is complete. Those ofskill in the art will note that the communications between the localapplication 410 and the remote address lookup module 216 verifyingacceptability of the local result 608 to the local application 410 areomitted from FIG. 6 for clarity.

In the event that the remote address lookup module 216 fails to identifyany result matching local query 602 within the local common database408, or succeeds in identifying a result which is not acceptable tolocal application 410, remote address lookup module 216 will thenproceed to query outside the MCD 116 for the requested information. Theremote address lookup module 216 will communicate a remote query 610 toat least one remote address database 406. Remote query 610 willgenerally be made across network 402 and be handled by remote server404, which will conduct a remote search 612 of remote address database406.

In the event that a record matching the remote query 610 is identifiedwithin remote address database 406, a remote result 614 will becommunicated to remote address lookup module 216. The content of remoteresult 614 will then be forwarded on to local application 410 as remoteresult 616. Additionally, remote address lookup module 216 will performan update 618 to the local common database 408, the contents of whichare shared among the local applications resident on MCD 116, asdescribed above. Although it is not shown in FIG. 6, failure to identifya matching record within remote address database 406 could result in asubsequent query of one or more additional remote address databases, asdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 5.

For purposes of illustration of the above, it will be assumed that auser of MCD 116 wishes to retrieve the contact information for a personby the name of ‘John White’, which contact information does not exist inthe local address database within the MCD 116, but does exist in remoteaddress database 408. Upon receiving the query ‘JOHN’ from the user viaa local application 410, the remote address lookup module 216 wouldfirst conduct a search of the local address database. In the event thatthe local address database incorporates address information for JohnSmith, the remote address lookup module 216 may identify a potentialmatch, retrieve that information and present it to the user. Under theconditions presented above, the user is seeking John WHITE, and not JohnSMITH. Accordingly, the user would not accept the identified record,which will force the remote address lookup module 216 to conduct aremote query of the remote address database 406.

Upon successful completion, under the circumstances as presented, thequery of the remote address database 406 will return at least one remoteresult, which will be relayed to local application 410 by the remoteaddress lookup module 216. Because at least one of the remote resultswill be the desired address data for John White, the remote addresslookup module 216 will store this address data in the local commondatabase 408. Accordingly, the next time that address data for JohnWhite is required by application 410, or any of the other applicationssharing local common database 408, the address data will be found inlocal common database 408, and a query of a remote database will not benecessary.

It is believed that the operation and construction of the embodiments ofthe present patent disclosure will be apparent from the DetailedDescription set forth above. While the exemplary embodiments shown anddescribed may have been characterized as being preferred, it should bereadily understood that various changes and modifications could be madetherein without departing from the scope of the present invention as setforth in the following claims. As an example, although the disclosurehas been focused on the use of the remote lookup and local commondatabase in the context of address data, there is nothing within thespirit and scope of the present disclosure limiting the above methods,systems and apparatus to address data specifically, and the same can beused in any application in which a subset of a larger, centrally-locateddatabase may be needed locally.

1. A method for sharing address data among multiple applications on amobile communications device, comprising: receiving, at the mobilecommunication device, a query from a query source, wherein the querysource is an application disposed on the mobile communication device;searching a local common database disposed on the mobile communicationsdevice for a local matching record meeting conditions of the receivedquery, the local common database being accessible to an address bookapplication and a messaging application disposed on the mobilecommunications device; if at least one local matching record is found inthe local common database: presenting the at least one local matchingrecord to the query source; and receiving an indication from the querysource indicating whether any of the at least one local matching recordis acceptable; if no local matching record is found in the local commondatabase or if none of the at least one local matching record isindicated as being acceptable: querying, via a wireless packet dataservice network, a remote address database disposed on a remote server,for a remote matching record meeting conditions of the received query;if at least one remote matching record is found in the remote addressdatabase: receiving via the wireless packet data service network the atleast one remote matching record; presenting the at least one remotematching record to the query source; receiving an indication from thequery source indicating whether any of the at least one remote matchingrecord is acceptable; and updating the local common database toincorporate a remote matching record if a remote matching record isindicated as being acceptable.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein thequery source is the messaging application.
 3. The method of claim 2further comprising: accessing the local common database to use theincorporated remote matching record from an application other than themessaging application.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the applicationis the address book application.